Readymade, Found Object, Replica: Redefining Sculpture in Europe and America, 1980s - 2010s

This thesis examines the legacies of the readymade and the found object in contemporary art. It considers the critical currency and implications of these concepts today by looking at selected contemporary artworks. The two terms are often used interchangeably in the critical literature. However, the Duchampian readymade has been privileged in contemporary thought. My aim is to demonstrate that these concepts are related, but not identical, while drawing attention to aspects of the found object that have been overlooked or suppressed. I suggest that this will allow for the subtle nuances and overlaps between these two key concepts to emerge, further enriching our understanding of contemporary works of art that draw upon them. The thesis is divided into five chapters. The first two chapters form the first section which is a literature review of the material dealing with Marcel Duchamp's readymade and the surrealist object, setting the historical and theoretical framework for the discussion of the contemporary works. The following three chapters, each concentrate on work by one contemporary artist or collaborative pair who makes use of readymade and found objects, as well as their replicas: Peter Fischli and David Weiss, Gabriel Orozco, and Urs Fischer. Through a close analysis of the contemporary work, I address the issue of a return of the category of sculpture, post `sculpture in the expanded field', marked by a renewed, critical attention on the material object in art.